ASU Soccer: Beat down by Bears

The Arizona State women’s soccer team continued their tough Pac-12 slate with a 2-0 loss to Cal Thursday night.

The Sun Devils added to their list of woes as they weren’t able to hold out in the second half with the 16^th ranked Golden Bears.

Once again playing without junior forward Aly Moon and junior forward Jazmarie Mader, the Sun Devils were unable to find any goals Thursday night. Redshirt senior midfielder Lucy Lara, however, made her return.

“You could see the difference that it makes, head coach Kevin Boyd said. “She creates something out of nothing quite a bit and we have two other players out that do the exact same thing.”

A near defensive collapse by ASU in the 14^th minute almost allowed the Bears to grab an early lead. The Sun Devils were left vulnerable yet again after their center backs were left to defend by themselves, a theme that has plagued ASU all year.

However, the Sun Devils showed great improvement from their previous games.

Opening up in a 4-4-2 diamond, the Sun Devils looked comfortable on offense throughout the game. As per usual, ASU’s outside backs played liberally, but it was their resilience in the midfield that allowed them to take control of the match at times.

“We changed our system a little bit,” head coach Kevin Boyd. “We’ve changed systems a number of times, trying to expose some certain aspects of the game that we identified and felt we could cause some problems with.”

Olivia Hernandez had an open look on goal, but was denied by a Cal defender coming in to block the ball late. The chance was a big breakthrough for ASU, as the shot came on the heels of successive passes.

“Tonight was one of the best times we played collectively as a whole,” junior defender Madison Stark said. “We generated a lot of chances, but hit cross bars against a really good defense. We held the ball a lot better in the midfield and we outnumbered them.”

Throughout Pac-12 play, the Sun Devils have struggled with their passing and their ability to hold possession. ASU flipped the script tonight.

The Sun Devils were able to string together passes and looked in sync throughout the field. ASU looked like a completely new team, their chemistry seemingly clicking.

“Getting the ball forward and connecting really helped us today,” senior forward Larisa Staub said. “You need to keep the ball. If you lose it in the mid there’s a quick transition. Making those passes in the middle and getting up front is really crucial.”

The defense stepped up as well, holding strong and refusing to be intimated by a potent Cal attack.

The Sun Devil’s held the Golden Bears to only one shot on goal through 70 minutes, marking a huge turn-around after an atrocious defensive performance in last weeks loss to Oregon

The second shot on goal was the killer.

Cal took a 1-0 lead on The Sun Devils  as they conceded an absolute strike from over 30 yards out. Keeper Megan Delaney reacted late, and the ball found the back of the net.

With all the strides ASU made tonight, a lack of communication in the attacking third and an ability proved to be the killers.

“We had three exceptional chances,” Boyd said. “High quality chances is really what we’re trying to create.”

The Sun Devils finished the game with two more shots on goals than their opponents, however they could not execute when it mattered.

A late penalty kick in the 84^th minute by senior forward Arielle Ship put the Golden Bears up for good 2-0.

ASU will continue their season Sunday afternoon in Tempe against the Stanford Cardinal at 3:00.

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